How to use ExpressVPN with OpenVPN for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10

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This tutorial guide will walk you through the steps to connect to a VPN server using ExpressVPN’s OpenVPN configuration files with the OpenVPN GUI on your Windows PC. The OpenVPN GUI is a free, open-source software available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

The directions and screenshots in this tutorial are for Windows 8.1, but the steps should be similar enough for other versions of Windows.

Set up the OpenVPN GUI with your OpenVPN configuration files

Now we will configure the OpenVPN GUI with the .ovpn configuration files we downloaded earlier.

During the installation process, an OpenVPN GUI shortcut was added to your Desktop. Right-click the OpenVPN GUI shortcut and click Open file location.

You are now in the C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\bin directory. We want to go up one directory, to C:\Program Files\OpenVPN. Click OpenVPN in the navigation bar to enter that directory.

We now want to enter C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config. Double-click the config folder to enter it.

Remember those .ovpn OpenVPN config files we downloaded in Step 1? Now we want to move them into the C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config folder. Select the.ovpn files in the Downloads folder and drag and drop them into the config folder to move them.

You might see this “Destination Folder Access Denied” pop-up. It will ask you to provide administrator permission to move things into the config folder. Check the box for “Do this for all current items”, then click Continue.

Awesome! Now your .ovpn files are in C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config directory.

Connect to the VPN server

Right-click on the OpenVPN GUI shortcut on the Desktop and choose Run as admin to launch it.

Launching the OpenVPN GUI will add an OpenVPN GUI icon to the system tray in the bottom-right corner of your screen. Click the system tray arrow, then click and drag the OpenVPN GUI icon out of the menu and into the system tray for easier access.

Right-click the OpenVPN GUI icon in the system tray.

You will see a list of all the servers. Hover over your preferred VPN server, then click Connect.

Clicking Connect launches a Connecting screen.

Enter the ExpressVPN OpenVPN username and password you found earlier then click OK.

When the connection has been established, a speech bubble will notify you of your new connected status.

If you are already connected to a server location and want to connect to a different one, you must first disconnect from the current server before connecting to another one.